The Courtship of Mona Vanderwaal
by DSW2496
Summary: AU, No A. Mona is a lower tier individual in the high school, with a few friends. She secretly envies Alison's popularity until a new kid comes to Rosewood, and suddenly her world just might get a little bit brighter. MonaxOC, HannaxLucas, Emison is always endgame. Multiple chapters planned, as it is not a one shot.
1. Chapter 1: Beginnings

AN: This story is dedicated to my best friend, as she is the one who got me into PLL, and thus the wonderful world of Rosewood. I love Mona in the show, and felt that she deserved better. So, this is my AU.

Disclaimer: I own nothing. I am not affiliated with FreeForm, Warner Brothers Studios, or any other such organization and all rights belong to their respective owners. All I own is the OC

* * *

In Pennsylvania, not far from Philadelphia, lay a little town of Rosewood, It was a medium sized town, bordering on being a city. The day was one that was overcast, no sunlight finding its way through the clouds. Rain was beginning to drizzle in from the sky, and a young woman sighed, swearing lightly under her breath. Her name was Mona Vanderwaal, and this is not how she thought her day was going to go. She wished she could be like other people and be happy with her life. She had friends, she had good parents, and a stable job working at The Brew; there was no reason to wish for more, no reason to yearn for popularity, or all the power that came with being the head of the hierarchy at high school. And yet, lust after it she did.

More important than the need to be popular, she mused as she walked towards school, was the best friend she missed. Hanna Marin had been her best friend since eighth grade, and God knew she was the only friend she'd had for a while. The others came later. Lucas, Toby, they'd been hard won friends. They'd been friends won of patience and common interests, of hangouts and shared dinners, of late night board games and laughter. They were real friends, and she appreciated that. She nodded to herself with a smile on her face, brief but clearly there in the rain, before she dove back to the safety of her porch, picking up her nearly forgotten car keys. Her phone beeped with a text and she saw that Hanna was waiting by her own door.

* * *

They arrived at Rosewood High a short 17 minute drive later, and Mona slammed the car door shut, slinging her messenger bag over her shoulder. Hanna was by her side, falling into step as they quickly crossed the parking lot to the broad doors through to the faded yellow lockers and matching yellow paint. Hanna bumped her shoulder as she snapped her head to look at Hanna, then at what she was pointing at. Across the hall was Caleb, unlocking his locker and shoving some items inside while yanking others out, as if he had had a bad morning. Mona smirked as Hanna ducked her head and blushed.

"Still pining after Caleb like, what is it now, a year?" Hanna groaned and tucked a strand of blond hair behind her ear. "One year, three months, four days and nine hours, but hey, who's counting?" "Certainly not me!" Mona says with a laugh. _She'd be better off with Lucas,_ Mona thinks as their friend Emily comes up from behind them, walking quickly and ducking into a nearby classroom to avoid the searing stalkery gaze of Paige.

Nearby, Alison DiLaurentis, Queen of Rosewood as she was, was leading a small entourage of Spencer, Aria, and several cronies that she didn't know or care to know. What she did care about, was the look on Emily's face of abject fear as she followed Emily's gaze to Paige McCullers. Her soft look, normally reserved for secret glances at Emily, quickly turned into a look of anger and contempt as her eyes narrowed. _Pigskin,_ she thought. It was well known throughout Rosewood High, sort of an open secret, that Alison had a soft spot for Emily Fields, and God help anyone who crossed Emily.

Mona noticed the look in Alison's eyes and sighed, grabbing Hanna by the wrist and pulling her along into their Homeroom, led by one Ella Montgomery, Aria's mom. Mona slid into her usual seat in the third row, fourth from the left while Hanna sat behind her. They whispered in hushed tones about their plans even as the others trickled in slowly but surely until the bell rang. Ella spoke up as someone new stood up from the front row and Mona's honey brown eyes tore from her phone as she took in the new guy's visage. She had to make a conscious effort not to openly stare as she took him in; He had sparkling green eyes and dark brown hair, an almost oval shaped face with with a cleft chin. He wasn't built super heavily like Noel Kahn or one of the meatheads on the football team, but she could see a slenderness to his frame, like he had been on the wrestling team at his previous school and for some time at that. Mona's first thought was that he was _adorable._ Certainly cute but he clearly possessed a charm his fellow athletes didn't possess. He dressed for comfort clearly, but it was not without taste.

He said his name and Mona detected the barest hint of a southern accent, like he'd been down near Georgia or somewhere similar; quickly she scrawled a note to herself to ask Hanna of his name. She'd been so caught up in how he sounded that she forgot to listen to what he said.

 _This is gonna be an interesting year,_ she thought.


	2. Chapter 2: Science and First Impressions

AN: This story is dedicated to my best friend, as she is the one who got me into PLL, and thus the wonderful world of Rosewood. I love Mona in the show, and felt that she deserved better. So, this is my AU. She also teases me frequently about my leaning toward Mona in the show

Disclaimer: I own nothing. I am not affiliated with FreeForm, Warner Brothers Studios, or any other such organization and all rights belong to their respective owners. All I own is the OC

Note: this chapter was reuploaded and edited for spelling and grammar errors, I apologize for that.

* * *

As the bell rang, Mona immediately turned to Hanna, snatching her wrist out of the air and bolting out of her seat like a bat out of hell, all but dragging Hanna to the nearby bathroom. Hanna stumbled along as best she could until Mona turned around just as quickly.

"Whoa, what is it, Mona?" She exclaimed, confused as to why Mona had acted so strangely. "That boy, the one that stood up in English, the one with the brown hair and green eyes, what was his name?" "Hunter, why? Oh, my God, do you like him?" Mona ducked her head and blushed, mumbling some excuse about not hearing him. Hanna giggled and Mona rolled her eyes, and walked out of the bathroom having gotten his name. She knew she couldn't just approach him directly, no, she had to know what his social ranking was. Where he stood on the societal ladder determined his own worth. If she could ascertain his standing, then maybe, just maybe, this little not-crush of hers might pay off.

Mona groaned at all the teasing she was going to get from Hanna later, but she could handle that. God help her if Toby or Lucas, Aria or Holden got hold of this information; now that was something to fear. As she walked to her next class, she saw the new kid sliding into his seat, directly beside her, the only free seat left. Great, Bio and something to distract her. Brilliant, she was going to have to study even harder now. Miss Shepherd called the class to attention and the guy introduced himself again, this time being officially assigned as Mona's lab partner.

She swallowed hard. _Hoo, boy._ This was not going to be easy, especially in such close proximity. Although she didn't have many options at this point, this late into the semester. Ah well, Mona supposed. Better to get to know him with, right? So, with a surge of courage, she struck up a conversation.

"Hey, I'm Mona. Mona Vanderwaal." She said, almost as if she had to get the words out quickly or she'd lose the confidence to say them. He grinned, and dipped his head his head in acknowledgement. "Hunter, I'm new in town. Just moved into the loft space above the Brew. living with Toby Cavanaugh. You know him?" "Yeah, I know him, he has a thing for Alison's friend Spencer, and I hang out him a lot." She paused and smiled, thinking that if he knew Toby, he invariably knew Spencer. The two were almost inseparable and had a thing for each other but neither one had the guts to admit it.

* * *

Meanwhile, just a few tables over, Alison pulled her head back from over her shoulder to look Emily in the eyes. She smiled, a soft smile reserved only for Her Mermaid. "Hey, you seen the new kid in town? Already hanging out with Loser Mona, not a good sign." "Yeah, but it's sweet. She doesn't look at him like she does the other guys. " Alison smirked and rolled her eyes. "Yeah, but it's Mona. It isn't cute like Spencer and Toby, or Aria giving heart eyes to Holden." Emily groaned a little. Alison had been an absolute terror in tenth grade when she became Queen Bee, but she thought she had gotten through to the other girl, allowing her to soften a little and be the person she truly was behind the mask of popularity.

Emily sighed at Alison, "I think Mona should be allowed to like whoever she wants, I think it's adorable." Alison looked at Emily and gave her a soft smile, "Wow." Emily looked back down at her notes and asked,"What?" "You really do see the beauty in everyone and in Mona's case, everything." Alison replied. Emily blushed and shifted the topic to their notes, ending the Mona topic for the time being, but to Alison, this was interesting, infinitely more so than biology or whatever stupid thing they were supposed to be learning. In the back of her mind, she began to scheme like she always does, yet this one was far more...beneficial, she supposed, than previous schemes. Instead of being bitchy and manipulating those around her maybe she could use her talents to create a relationship.

* * *

Mona eyed Alison suspiciously and turned her attention back to Hunter as he smiled, exposing dimples she swore she nearly swooned at. Hunter chuckled at Emily and Alison's animated discussion. "Those two a thing?" Mona looked over to Emily and Alison and laughed. "Not officially, but they might as well be. Alison, that's the blonde over there, is super possessive of Emily, the brunette. It's basically an open secret." Hunter shrugged his shoulders. "Seems like there's a lot about this town I don't know. Someone should give me a tour." Mona's eyes brightened at the prospect to spend more time with him and was about to offer when the bell rang and Hunter rose from his seat. He smiled and walked swiftly to the door, before she could get a word out.


End file.
